From introduction: "This report is concerned with exploratory experiments designed to studies the efficiency of a number of scavengers for zirconium and niobium adsorption and to provide preliminary information on the best conditions to employ on the most satisfactory of those scavengers studied, namely Super Filtrol FO. The data in this report include data obtained through October, 1949, and are by no means considered to be final. The investigation is currently being actively continued."

Objective: "The laboratory equilibrium study RC-E-1 described in this report was carried out to obtain uranium equilibrium curves at various concentrations of nitric acid and of TBP."

This report analyzes Parian and Teflon that were exposed to solutions of 1AX, 1AS, and 1AF, ANL June 1, 1948 Flowsheet, under conditions described in the following report.

The following report provides results from laboratory tests on the corrosion resistance of various types of stellite facings on astenitic stainless steel T-347 to Redox streams.

This report discusses a proposed method for treating the effect of increasing critical mass of plutonium solutions, which occurs when hydrogen density is reduced by dilution with heavier nuclei.

Abstract: "A titrimetric method for the determination of fluoride in plutonium is reported. Prior to a steam distillation of the fluoride, the bulk of the plutonium is separated by precipitation of the sulfate. The fluoride in the distillate is titrated at a pH of 3.2 with 0.001 M thorium nitrate, using chrome azurol-S indicator. Applied to samples containing 1 to 15 parts per million fluoride, the recovery is 87% and the precision on the 95% confidence level is +/- 0.65 ppm."

Report discussing the details of a radiation burst in a spherical reactor using plutonium nitrate fuel that occurred on November 16, 1951 at Hanford Works.

Report summarizing physical studies on Redox solutions and metal waste solutions, including refractometric investigations.

Report discussing study on recovery of nitric acid in the uranium recovery process. The behavior of chloride ions and tributyl phophate is noted, and the quality of recycled nitric acid was tested. Stainless steel in the nitric acid recovery system was evaluated for corrosion.

The following report describes a chemical procedure to analyze fission products and long-lived rare earths in both untreated urine samples and the supernates from the precipitation steps in the TTA procedure for plutonium.

Introduction: "A limited test progress for the evaluation of type 347 stainless steel pipe which failed the Huey (?) test has been complicated. The tests reported herein were similar in scope to those reported in document number EW-20765, Corrosion Tests on Stainless Steel Plate, Waste Metal Recovery Process. Material tested was obtained on order number EWC-8553, National Tube Company Heat #3X9741. Lots 9789 and 9790."

This report summarizes the research and development work carried out during December, 1959, and January and February, 1960, for Budget Activity 2790 - Separations Development for Non-Production Reactors. The major effort on Activity 2790 has been completed. Current efforts on the remaining problem areas will enable Hanford to begin reprocessing fuel elements from power reactors which employ depleted or slightly enriched uranium fuels in July, 1962.

Critical mass experiments to be conducted at HAPO will require dilute and concentrated plutonium solutions. Since very high plutonium concentrations (~2,000 g/l) cannot be attained in pumpable solutions, solid plutonium compounds will be utilized for this phase of the work. Mixtures of plutonium oxide and polyethylene, methyl methacrylate or paraffin compacted in containers have been considers for use in highly-concentrated plutonium systems of known hydrogen to plutonium atomic ratio (H/Pu).

Gradual corrosion and mechanical wear of equipment over a period of years has affected the seals and gasketing of the electric pot calcining equipment in the 224-U Building Cell E to such an extent that the desirable vacuum cannot be maintained in the pots. Air contamination has been gradually increasing, and this, together with a lowering of the mask working limits, has made it necessary to require personnel to wear assault masks continuously. Indications are that, with the increased production now required, the level of air contamination will continue to rise unless measures are taken to prevent it. The Manufacturing Department has requested that a project be established to reduce the contamination level. Several items of improvement are listed for consideration including, in general, the electric pot agitation and sealing, semi-automatic pot unloaders, cell ventilation and air locks, and the nitric acid off-gas system and stacks. Because of the urgency of improving the conditions, the project, at first, is to provide for immediate improvements for the electrical pot agitation, the pot cover leakage, and the nitric acid off-gas system and stack. Additional study will be required to determine the extent of the ventilation and semi-automatic unloading improvements required.

The Redox process uses or produces only a very few materials that are hazardous for reasons other than radioactivity. The conditions under which these materials become hazardous were carefully taken into consideration in the development of the process and design of the equipment. A considerable about of information on the hazardous properties of the process materials was obtained so that the pertinent material could be incorporated into the process specifications. Providing the equipment is operating properly and the process is being carried out within specification limits, no hazardous conditions can be created by the process. The purpose of this report is to assemble in a single, readily available document all of the information on the normal concentration limits and safe handling procedures needed to adequately control the use and storage of these materials. This report should be helpful in preparing safety bulletins and provide guidance in case of unusual incidents, malfunctioning of equipment, or contemplated changes in either the process or equipment. It is important to remember that a maximum allowable concentration (MAC) is only a limit on the concentration of a toxic material which cannot be exceeded in the air to which workers are constantly exposed to every working …

It was shown that without further major development the detectors proposed for the Body Monitor can be expected to detect 0.02 microcurie of plutonium at the center of the chest cavity. This is the permissible body burden of insoluble forms of plutonium. The detection level can be decreased by decreasing the background counting rate. Decreases in the background can reasonably be expected; it should be possible to detect a small fraction of the permissible body burden. If it can be shown, as suggested by other work, that americium will remain with plutonium, then within at least a few months after entry into the body it should be possible to measure the plutonium by detection of rays from Am²⁴¹.

Average coefficients of thermal expansion of the temperature range 25 C to approximately 425 C are reported for numerous types of graphite. The dependence of thermal expansion on crystal orientation and crystallite size and the effects of oxidation and cold test hole irradiation are discussed. An empirical relationship between thermal expansion and the initial rate of physical expansion under cold test hole irradiation is formulated.

Treatment of Columbia River water with aluminum sulfate and activated silica to coagulate undesirable solids has long been established as a satisfactory method for obtaining high quality process water to cool the Hanford reactors. The activated silica used in this process has been prepared by neutralization of less than 92 per cent of the initial alkalinity of a dilute solution of sodium silicate by mixing with dilute sulfuric acid. This mixture is then aged for a period of time equal to one-fourth to one-half of the gel time of the mixture. The concentration of the resulting activated silica solution is not permitted to exceed 1.6 per cent SiO₂ by weight. This activated silica preparation is presently carried out as a batch process with aging times on the order of one hour. A continuous silica activator recently made commercially available by the Omega Machine Company of Providence, Rhode Island, offers several potential advantages over other activated silica facility designs being considered. This continuous silica activator utilizes neutralization of up to 96 per cent of the initial alkalinity of the sodium silicate. The high percentage of neutralization results in gel times of approximately fifteen minutes for the concentrated solutions (up to 1.6 …

When water is used as a coolant in any heat-producing process, the purity of the cooling water is of considerable importance, both from the standpoint of build-up of deposited solids inside the cooling tubes, and as an indication of corrosion of the tubes or any other materials with which the water comes in contact. The first problem has long been recognized, and is generally solved by pretreatment of the water. Efficient treatment can reduce the total solids content to less than 0.1 ppm, and the concentration of individual elements to the order of 0.01 ppm. If water of this purity is used, the analysis of the input and output stresses can result in some useful information. The input stream analysis, of course, is direct measure of the quality of the original cooling water, and frequent analysis by a reasonably fast method can be used to keep pretreatment under control. But of even greater significance is the difference in the impurity content of input and output streams. In a simple, straight-through system the difference generally will be negligible. If a closed, recirculating system is considered, however, with the coolant water circulating through the process to be cooled and then through a …

As recommended in a previous report a study of the NO₂ and HNO₃ exposures of plant personnel in the 224 U Building has been made. Concentrations of NO₂ and HNO₃ from the 224 U roof stack, in the concentrator cells, and in the calcining pot rooms have been determined. The problems have been outlined and recommendations have been made for its alleviation.

Ultrasonic equipment has been developed for nondestructive testing of Hanford fuel elements. The ultrasonic method has replaced the Frost Test for bonding layer inspection in the Hanford canning line, and provides more accurate and reliable results at lower cost. The method has also been adopted to the testing of new fuel elements for which no other method is available.

A research and development program aimed at devising processes for the economical recovery of the potentially valuable long-lived fission products from Purex waste has been under wat at Hanford for several years. When this work has begun, the concentrated waste was primarily a nitric acid solution (6 to 10 M HNO3) containing the fission products and relatively small concentrations of iron, sulfate, and other corrosion products. Flowsheets based on classical separation schemes and rather similar to processes used by the Isotopes Division at the AEC's Oak Ridge operation served to separate the desired fission products from one another and from the corrosion products (1,2,3).These separation schemes employed careful step-wise pH adjustment to precipitate first the iron and then to separate the desired fission products from one another. The flowsheets were demonstrated on a pilot-plant scale with full-level plant waste. However, since the earlier work was complete, plant operations have been modified....

At the present time, cerium-144 and premtheium-147 are the two fission product rare earths that appear most promising for use as the heat source in isotopic power units. Under proper conditions, cerium and the trivalent rare earths can be extracted from the Purex fission product waste stream as an insoluble sodium-rare earth double sulfate. A reprecipitation as the double sulfate, dissolution of the hydroxide, serves to give almost complete separation from the corrosion products, inert constituents of the waste, and from most of the fission products. The cerium and the trivalent rare earths must then be separated from each other. In the case of cerium recovery, it is necessary to remove the trivalent rare earths in order to maximize the specific activity of the cerium. If promethium is the desired product, a preliminary cerium separation is desirable to protect the ion-exchange resin (used for separating promethium from its adjacent rare earths) from the intense high-energy radiation from cerium.

A knowledge of the mechanical and physical properties of uranium is important in understanding and explaining its pile behavior. The effects of irradiation on the properties of uranium will be dealt with in another chapter. However, it is important to know and understand the pre-irradiation properties of uranium prior to investigating the effects of irradiation.